Missouri attorney general joins in warning Target its ‘Pride’ merchandise for kids may violate child-protection laws

Missouri’s attorney general has joined six other AGs in warning Target its Pride merchandise may violate child-protection laws, Fox Business reported Thursday.

The seven AGs also noted company officials “may be negligent in undertaking the ‘Pride’ campaign, which negatively affected Target’s stock price,” thus violating fiduciary duties to stockholders, which include the seven states.

“Our concerns entail the company’s promotion and sale of potentially harmful products to minors, related potential interference with parental authority in matters of sex and gender identity, and possible violation of fiduciary duties by the company’s directors and officers,” their July 5 letter to Target Chairman and CEO Brian C. Cornell reads.

The letter, signed by Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey and led by Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, points out the criminal nature of the sexualization of minors.

“State child-protection laws penalize the ‘sale or distribution … of obscene matter,’” they write. “A matter is considered ‘obscene’ if ‘the dominant theme of the matter … appeals to the prurient interest in sex,’ including ‘material harmful to minors.’ Indiana, as well as other states, have passed laws to protect children from harmful content meant to sexualize them …”

The attorneys general write that Target “marketed and sold LGBTQIA+ promotional products to families and young children as part of a comprehensive effort to promote gender and sexual identity among children.”

The letter alleges the merchandise included “LGBT-themed onesies, bibs, and overalls, t-shirts labeled ‘Girls Gays Theys;’ ‘Pride Adult Drag Queen Katya’ (which depicts a male dressed in female ‘drag’); and girls’ swimsuits with ‘tuck-friendly construction’ and ‘extra crotch coverage’ for male genitalia.”

The AGs also say Target marketed anti-Christian products as well as violent pro-transgender slogans and images.

“Target also included merchandise by the self-declared ‘Satanist-Inspired’ brand Abprallen, which is known for designs that glorify violence. These designs include the phrases ‘We Bash Back’ with a heart-shaped mace in the trans-flag colors, ‘Transphobe Collector’ with a skull, and ‘Homophobe Headrest’ with skulls beside a pastel guillotine.

“Target also sold products with anti-Christian designs, such as pentagrams, horned skulls, and other Satanic products. One such design included the phrase ‘Satan Respects Pronouns’ with a horned ram representing Baphomet – a half-human, half-animal, hermaphrodite worshiped by the occult.”

And as noted by the AGs, and earlier reported on by Fox News, Target has partnered with GLSEN – formerly the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network – “a K-12 education group which focuses on getting (school) districts to adopt policies that will keep parents in the dark on their child’s in-school gender transition, providing sexually explicit books to schools for free, and integrating gender ideology at all levels of curriculum in public schools …”

“Target’s ‘Pride’ campaign and financial support to organizations such as GLSEN not only raise concerns under our States’ child-protection and parental-rights laws but also against our States’ economic interests as Target shareholders,” the attorneys general write.

Reports last month said Target’s market cap had fallen more than $15.7 billion as a result of the company’s controversial decisions.

“Target’s management has no duty to fill stores with objectionable goods, let alone endorse or feature them in attention-grabbing displays at the behest of radical activists,” the AGs write. “However, Target management does have fiduciary duties to its shareholders to prudently manage the company and act loyally in the company’s best interests. …

“Target’s board and its management may not lawfully dilute their fiduciary duties to satisfy the Board’s (or left-wing activists’) desires to foist contentious social or political agendas upon families and children at the expense of the company’s hard-won good will and against its best interests.”

The letter ends not with the threat of any legal action, but with an apparent plea to the company to change course and work with the states on this matter:

“We trust that we can work together to advance and protect the rights of individuals, the rule of law, and the well-being of families and children.”

The other attorneys general signing the letter are from Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Mississippi and South Carolina.